GenVibe - Community for Pontiac Vibe Enthusiasts

hey all, some of you might know that I'm getting a vibe with in a few weeks, and my question is, whats the best suspensions for the vibes? i know with my fire it was koni reds/yellows with eibach pro-kit or sportlines. i'm looking to get it all done sometime around may or so. thanks in advance

coil-overs or just lowering springs... tein, hotchkis, eibach, trd, whoever, its up to you on that one.get some front and rear swaybars and you should be carving corners nicely

well i'd probably go with lowering springs, but whats the best struts go with? does it depend on the spring

A good set up is TEIN S-tech springs which will drop the car about 2 inches. Complete that with a front strut bar, a rear sway bar and those rims and it will be night and day difference from stock. I have that set up on my Vibe with 17" rims, very little body roll and I autocross my Vibe in the summer time, great fun.

k cool..so TEIN S-tech springs..but what struts? gotta have struts..dont wanna use the stock ones like a few of my buddies have for their rides

I think Koni makes the only aftermarket struts. They are pricey though. I think Tein coilovers would be cheaper than buying springs and struts, and you can adjust the height and the shock dampening. The stock struts are KYB and are actually excellent struts.

Air bags!Good for all occasions!

I have the Tein S-tech with the stock struts and it rides better than stock. I have no complaints..... nuvibe

I have Hotchkis springs with stock struts and it is a nice upgrade from stock I also have a TRD strut tower bar which helps, but in a year ill be getting sway bars

yea on these cars you really dont need to change struts just get the lowering springs, strut bar brace, and rear sway bar and your set.

going on 4 years next spring on the stock struts with tein.

alright cool. thanks for all the info..i know with the sunfires..the struts were crap so when my buddies lowered their cars, they're all bouncy and stuff..i'd like a very stiff suspension system...if i do get aftermarket struts, i'd want adjustables, soft and hard..like the Koni yellows are..and airbags are way to pricey for me..and to much maintanance..i've seen many airbag systems mess up..could run over something sharp..tire throws it up at the bag...then you're finished til you buy a new bag..which is like what, $400 or something?

Quote, originally posted by WaveblueVibe »alright cool. thanks for all the info..i know with the sunfires..the struts were crap so when my buddies lowered their cars, they're all bouncy and stuff..i'd like a very stiff suspension system...if i do get aftermarket struts, i'd want adjustables, soft and hard..like the Koni yellows are..and airbags are way to pricey for me..and to much maintanance..i've seen many airbag systems mess up..could run over something sharp..tire throws it up at the bag...then you're finished til you buy a new bag..which is like what, $400 or something?Don't know, had it on for over a year and no pops yet! It would be pretty friggin hard to throw something that just happened to be sharp and just happen to be directly at and hard enough into the bag to pop it. I don't think they cost that much either, but I got my full kit for $500! They do mess up, but if you get it installed professionally you shouldn't have any problems, and properly maintain them (which I don't ).

If you want performance, Tein Stech is what I've heard. I need to get mine installed sometime in spring. Have Eibachs on the GA and they are nice, even with stock shocks/struts.Airbags are good for show, thats about it IMHO.

Quote, originally posted by DopeVibeGT »Airbags are good for show, thats about it IMHO.To be honest with you, you're probably right, there! They have been good to keep me from completely destroying my front bumper, but otherwise have been more of a hassle than anything.

Yeah bags are cool but I've never seen anyone autocross with them heh.

Quote, originally posted by Mavrik »Yeah bags are cool but I've never seen anyone autocross with them heh.Prolly cuz they havent lived through the rollover to tell...

well as most of you only do have lowering springs..i'll probably go with that route..and worst comes to worst, can pick up an aftermarket strut IF my struts do blow

Quote, originally posted by Mrizzle05 »Prolly cuz they havent lived through the rollover to tell... Your probably right heh.

Well if your a ball-er, you can always get the teins and new KYB'S at the same time.

I have the Progress rear bar and it is great. About $100. ALmost eliminates understeer. 1/2 hour install. Designed to work with the front bar, The Hotchkiss set will reduce roll more, but will not make it understeer less. The rear bar is thicker than the Progress, but the front bar is much bigger than stock, so it is balanced like adding the Progress with the stock front bar. This is 3 times the cost, 6 times the installation time, for perhaps 25% more improvement.For springs, I have not yet decided. I am currently leaning towards H&R Sport. They drop a reasonable 1-1/2", and are 20% stiffer front and back. This should not induce any additional understeer. Unfortunately, no one on the site has indicated that they have these springs.I measured the ground clearance under the Vibe at 7". This is not a lot for a very high car. My son's Neon, which is a very low car, has 6". Dropping ground clearance to 4-1/2" seems too radical for me. I have attached a copy of my spring research.

Attached files Springs.xls (14 KB) 

wow you went all out huh harryyiii? thanks for the info..i'll look into it some more...i wont be shopping for springs anytime soon..maybe around march or so

Just did the tein H springs with new KYB's and progress sway bar. In a nut shell WOW. The car is on rails now. It is so fun to drive I would say . The stock struts work dead after only 50,000 miles on stock springs. The back end of the car use to squat like a 240z on take off from the light. The ride is fantastic I would say better than stock. I will try to get pic's up soon. Dominic

Just a couple shots of the Vibe with the new suspension

looks real Nice and clean.

Thanks, it really handles well for whats on it. I am very happy with how it sucks up the bumps with out any problems. I wanted to show what the Tein H springs look like on the vibe. This is thanks to Brad who hooked me up with the parts.

yea ill be getting that rear sway bar next and will deff. go to Brad to get it.